The Hindu Business Line : TAAI stresses Net challenges to travel industry

Industry & Economy - Travel & Places
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TAAI stresses Net challenges to travel industry

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Sept. 3

To embrace Web or not, this is the question that bothers travel agents most. The arrival of the discerning travellers backed by enormous information available with them through the Internet has posed a serious challenge to the travel industry.

Can the travel agents whose area of operation does not generally go beyond a locality, or at best, a town, afford huge investments required to set up portals and other supporting mechanism to allow online transactions?

The 55th convention of TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) focussed on this issue at the inaugural session. The session `Brick, Click and Fire' kicked off an interesting discussion among the technology providers, online travel solution providers, pure brick and mortar players and those who have a mix of click and brick.

Initiating discussion, Mr Ashok Fenn, InterGlobe Technologies, said that there was an Internet-savvy generation out there, probably, that did not know any other way.

Mr C.V. Prasad of TAAI said low Internet penetration and huge technology investments were the important challenges.

Mr Ashwin Damera Venkat, Chief Executive Officer of Travel Guru, said it was not necessary for smaller players to invest in Net technologies. Travel portals that were already there could help them in opening up the Internet window.

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